£50,000 secured for a family following their son’s preventable stillbirth
Our experts recently agreed a settlement of £50,000 for a family who lost their second child to a stillbirth that should have been avoided by
17th March 2026
When thinking about claiming compensation for medical negligence, it is normal to have concerns about the costs involved and how you will cover them. Fortunately, there are various options available to fund a medical negligence claim which do not require you to find the money upfront to cover the various costs involved.
This means that, if you experienced negligent medical treatment, you should be able to start a claim, no matter your financial situation.
We want to make sure that worries about funding your claim are never a reason for you to put off making a claim when you are entitled to, the following information is intended to give an overview of the various options for funding a claim and the costs involved.
For more information about starting a medical negligence claim, please get in touch to arrange a free, no-obligation initial consultation by calling 01253 766 559 or by completing this form.
To start a compensation claim today, or for more information simply complete the form below.
Also known as a ‘conditional fee agreement’, this type of arrangement means you only pay our fees and the other costs associated with your claim if we manage to secure compensation for you. There is no cost to you to start a no win, no fee medical negligence claim and no financial risk because, if your claim fails, you will not owe us anything.
In the event of a successful claim, our fees will often be recovered from the defendant through a costs order. In addition we will recover from your damages a modest percentage.
Legal Aid was withdrawn by the UK government for most types of clinical negligence claims in April 2013. However, Legal Aid funding is still available for some birth injury claims depending on the circumstances.
Unfortunately, we no longer offer Legal Aid funding as we prefer to be free to select our own medical experts.
Some people choose to fund their claim using legal expenses insurance. This is a type of cover many people have as an optional extra with their home insurance, car insurance or other type of insurance policy. Legal expenses insurance is also sometimes offered with bank accounts and credit cards.
Whether using legal expenses insurance to fund your claim is the best option will depend on your circumstances. We will be happy to discuss this with you during your initial consultation so you can make the right choice for you.
There are three main costs you will ultimately need to consider when making a medical negligence claim:
1) Solicitor’s fees – we will explain our fee structure during your initial meeting with our team so you have a clear picture of how these costs work.
2) Disbursements – these are the fees paid to third-parties, such as medical experts and other legal experts, as well as court fees and miscellaneous costs.
3) Legal expenses insurance – this covers against the possibility of being required to cover the defendant’s legal costs in the event that your claim does not succeed.
We will make sure all of the costs involved in making a medical negligence claim are clearly explained to you at the outset. We will then keep you regularly updated about the time we have spent and the associated costs as your case progresses, so you always stay on top of the costs involved in your case.
After you get in touch with us, we will listen to you and discuss your situation, including the healthcare advice you were given, and any evidence of negligent treatment.
We will need to apply for your medical records from various places, including the place you had treatment, other hospitals, and your GP practice.
We will then provide an honest assessment of whether we think you have a claim worth further investigation. We will explain the claims process and the fees involved.
We will start collecting evidence to support your claim. This typically includes applying for any further medical records, other documents from the hospital, obtaining witness statements and independent medical experts’ reports.
Once the facts of the case are clear, we will contact the NHS Trust or healthcare provider to inform them a claim is being investigated. The Letter of Claim (LOC) will set out the details of the alleged medical negligence and the injuries caused.
The Defendant is required to respond to our Letter of Claim (LOC) within four months. At this stage, they will either accept full, or partial, liability and may offer a financial settlement, or deny responsibility.
If the Defendant denies responsibility, or does not offer a sufficient settlement amount, we can then issue court proceedings on your behalf to take the claim further. The Defendant will be given 28 days to respond, and the court will then set a hearing date, usually around 18 months from when proceedings are initiated.
It is important to note that while issuing court proceedings is an essential step, it is rare that you will need to attend a hearing as most claims that reach this stage can be resolved with a pre-trial settlement.
The Court will then set a timetable for the exchange of evidence in the case. We will exchange any witness statement taken from you, and receive the witness statements (if any), of the clinicians involved in your care.
There will then be an exchange of medical expert evidence. Each party can obtain independent medical expert reports in each relevant discipline. For example, in a birth injury claim, both parties would have commissioned reports from independent obstetricians. We disclose the report we have obtained on your behalf and the Defendant has to disclose the report they have obtained.
The independent experts then have a meeting, separate to each party’s legal representatives, to narrow the issues for the Judge in the event the case goes to a trial. After this meeting, the medical experts have to produce a jointly written statement to provide to the Judge.
It is usual procedure to attend some form of pre-trial settlement resolution with the Defendant, either in the form of a settlement meeting, or a mediation. We have a very strong track record of negotiating pre-trial settlements and will explore every potential avenue to do so if your claim reaches this stage.
If your claim settles at this stage and involves a vulnerable party, such as a child or an adult with a brain injury, an approval hearing will be held by a High Court Judge to approve the settlement reached.
If your claim cannot be resolved outside a court hearing, we can offer experienced, and highly skilled, advocacy to secure the best possible outcome for your family.
Most claims are resolved in full through the above process. However, very complex claims, including birth injury claims, require an additional step to assess the quantification (value) of the claim.
For birth injury claims, additional independent medical experts will be required to assess issues such as life expectancy and care needs, and the process above will be repeated for the stage of quantification.
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Complex birth injuries specialist, 30 years' expertise. Recognised by Legal 500 as leading expert.
Birth Injury Claims Solicitors - Diane Rostron
dianerostron.co.uk
Diane Rostron is a specialist medical negligence solicitor who can help you make a Birth Injury Compensation Claim in the United Kingdom.
£50k Secured For Family After Son's Preventable Stillbirth
dianerostron.co.uk
£50k Secured for Family After Son's Preventable Stillbirth. We agreed a 50k settlement for family who lost second child to avoidable stillbirth.